LGBT Labour sending out Orwellian letters to Morning Star letter signatories

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

twitter.com/PaulEmbery/status/1017686437276340225

This is utterly despicable. What happened to freedom of speech? The Morning Star letter asked people to debate the issues without making threats! What's so dreadful about that? I wonder if they've written to Len McCluskey in these terms.

Dear Editor,

We, the undersigned, have a variety of positions about proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act. Some of us have not yet fully formed our opinions.

We are calling for action within our movement to allow debate to take place over proposed changes to the Act.

You may be aware that on April 13 this year, an activist, Tara Wood was convicted of the assault by beating of Maria MacLachlan, a 60-year-old woman who had gathered with others in order to attend a meeting at which they could discuss the potential impact on women and girls of such a change to the law.

On March 8, an incident also occurred on a Bectu picket line in which trans activists, with no connection to the industrial dispute itself, mobbed and verbally attacked a female trade union member on the basis of having recognised her as an attendee at a similar meeting.

And in late April women in Bristol looking to meet and discuss changes to the Gender Recognition Act were met with masked activists blocking entrances to the venue, and deliberately intimidating those wishing to go inside.

More recently, a meeting organised by Woman’s Place UK was targeted with a bomb threat which Hastings Police are investigating as a serious incident.

These cases are part of systematic attempts to shut down meetings organised by women at which they can discuss potential legislative changes and the impact these may have on any sex-based rights already enshrined in law.

They draw the whole of our progressive movement into disrepute.

Some trans rights activists even continue to justify the use of violence, meaning that many women are simply too frightened to attend meetings that are both public and lawful in order that they may discuss their own rights.

Other women, including ordinary women concerned for their rights, as well as those active within the trade union movement and other political campaigns, are also now anxious and fearful that they will be subjected to such attacks when engaging in any political activity, meetings, or protests.

We are sure that, whatever your view regarding the issues around the Gender Recognition Act, you will agree that it is unacceptable for women to be made scared to engage in political life.

We, the undersigned, publicly and unequivocally condemn the use of violence or tactics of intimidation on this issue.

Yours sincerely,

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/improving-climate-debate-around-proposed-changes-gender-recognition-act The letter.

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/04/len-mccluskey-signs-letter-accusing-trans-rights-activists-of-intimidation The Guardian records adverse reaction to the letter from some Labour people.

LGBT Labour can expect to be reported to ICO.

Oh, good! On what grounds? I'm not up to speed with this stuff.

My DS when he was younger used to get very upset if I praised his sister. I would say - well done DD you were very brave. And he would get upset ‘aren’t I brave’ ie my praising one sibling and not explicitly the other he viewed it as a direct attack on him. Now he’s older he has learnt that the absence of praise is not the same thing as a criticism.

LGBT Labour are at the emotional maturity level of my DS when he was 3. Do they really believe that if you don’t explicitly centre trans people in every communication then you are anti trans?

That was a rhetorical question as clearly they do.

How they can look themselves in the mirror and believe themselves to be decent human beings when they are criticising people for asking for women to be treated with respect and without violence I do not know.

Awful. There is nothing in the Morning Star letter to justify that response. LGBT Labour need reigning in.

I get the impression Len is the sort of person who if he had not made up his mind yet, would now move over to the GC side after receiving that letter.

You must have balls of steel to send a letter like that to person running Unite, the biggest funder of the Labour party, so respect for that. I wouldn't think it a sensible move if you want backing for motions at conference, a career in politics or funding for future campaign from Unite.

I imagine Len will tell whoever wrote that to fuck right off.

That new letter is poorly written. And it is unclear what exactly they are objecting to.

"the letter which you put your name to erased the experiences of transgender people in this debate".

How exactly? Please explain. If you cannot articulate your point then perhaps consider that you don't actually have a point.

And who exactly are LGBT Labour National Committee? At least put your own names to a letter calling for someone to remove their own name from a letter.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g Not everyone on that list is a public figure.
If they are contacting people directly they will have to explain how they got their address (accessing personal data), and why they are using it for that purpose (misuse of personal data).
That's 2 infractions, per letter.

This is the committee it seems

www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/national_committee

These are the specific trans members

www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/trans

Wow! That takes a certain level of narcissism...

They are essentially telling the signatories to not have their own opinion.

My first thought was "remove your name..." or what?

What will they do if the person does not remove their name and why do they want it removed? What a ridiculous request. Removing their names will not change their views.

I note that they have a somewhat satirical or mimicking letter in the Star now from the trans perspective.

LGBT Labour has three transgender (Trans) members on the National Committee for 2017

Heather Peto - Trans Officer
Emily Brothers - Campaigns Officer
Astrid Walker - Officer without Portfolio

Explains everything I think. Also interesting that there isn't a trans man on the committee. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Astrid Walker, LGBT Labour "Officer without Portfolio" has twittered an hour ago in support of the Morning Star letter. So that leaves 2 plus nameless functionaries to have composed the letters to Labour signatories. My money's on Heather

twitter.com/walker_astrid

Holy shit that is next level.
I genuinely can’t process what I’ve just read beyond “holy shit”.

It might have helped if I'd read Astrid Walker's link to the letter she was referring to!

Contains a fair bit of the old DARVO:

Deliberately mis-gendering people. In particular, referring to trans women as men.
Deliberately dead naming trans people (referring to them by the name given to them at birth).
Suggesting that the parents of trans children are guilty of child abuse for supporting their children’s identity.
Referring to cis women who support trans women as among other things, handmaidens and not good enough feminists.
The daily abuse of many prominent trans people.
The abuse of trans women invited to speak at women’s events.
The suggestion that trans men are actually women, who find it easier to live as men.
The erasure of the existence of non- binary people in many discussions.
The reporting of trans people and allies to their employers, in order to cause them problems at work.

I've been tweeting and quoting you about the ICO, Upstart, though without attribution.

All 26 representatives of LGBT Labour committee approved that letter? I rather doubt it. Otherwise they'd have put their actual names to it in a show of strength.

Maybe a majority approved it and so signed it LGBT Labour.

I had a look at Paul Embery's comments on Twitter. The vast majority were supportive of him.

I'm guessing most of the TRA frothers are off bullying the women who signed the letter instead.

There's a counter open letter posted this morning

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/gender-recognition-act-open-letter

More overreach. They can't help themselves, can they?

Astrid Walker, LGBT Labour "Officer without Portfolio" has twittered an hour ago in support of the Morning Star letter. So that leaves 2 plus nameless functionaries to have composed the letters to Labour signatories. My money's on Heather

@BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted No. I think the letter linked in the tweet was the counter-letter that was pro TRA. Check, and tell me if I am right or wrong.

All 26 representatives of LGBT Labour committee approved that letter? I rather doubt it. Otherwise they'd have put their actual names to it in a show of strength.

Maybe put in what was once known as a FOI request to Labour and ask who agreed to the letter being sent and how they obtained contact details for recipients?

OK - I see I'm behind and you've picked up on this!

I'm getting very tingly lately about the ramping up of the pressure.

Feminists making headway, and rattling TRAs is one thing.

But the stonkingly foot shooting arrogance of the reaction is extraordinary.

It comes across as utterly desperate.

But I imagine it's also coming across, to those not used to it, as unbelievably aggressive, authoritarian, tyrannical, oppressive and all the other words that mean bossy, up yourself, tone deaf and bullying.

Who on earth do they think they are talking to?

Labour really need to watch it regarding obtaining information about people who are not members, especially after the Emma's Diary fines. It was Emma's Diary who were fined, not Labour to be clear however, I find the whole thing of selling and obtaining data incredibly intrusive.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44794635

Well done Paul Embery for calling it out as it is. The more men who do this, the merrier.

And I love this quote from George Orwell:

"It appears to me that one defeats the fanatic precisely by not being a fanatic oneself, but on the contrary by using one's intelligence."